F-86F "Mike's Bird"
Capt Charles McSwain 39th FIS/ 51st FIW

Like busses, here’s my second Christmas F-86F Sabre, “Mikes Bird”.

It’s said that elaborate nose art began to appear on Sabres in Korea during the Autumn of 1952. “Mike's Bird” and “The Huff” had perhaps the gaudiest and perhaps not surprisingly, both flew in the same squadron: 39th FIS / 51st FIW, Suwon (K-13), South Korea.



While there is a brief mention in the public domain on how wingman Lieutenant Jim Thompson’s “The Huff” got its artwork, the only reference I’ve so far found on Capt. Charles McSwain and his "Mike's Bird”, only reference the model kit! I can’t help thinking, therefore, that both these aircraft were famous for their nose art rather than the success of their pilots. This in itself, based on what I’ve read on nose art, is unusual as it was typically the aces who adorned their fighters with artwork.

As I can not, thus, share much about the history of “Mike’s Bird”, I did learn an interesting fact relating to why it and its fellow squadron aircraft wore yellow bands and had checks on their tails. As the American F-86 Sabre and Soviet MiG 15 looked so similar in flight, when one of the first fighter wings, 4th FIW, arrived in Korea in 1950, they painted forward-slanting black-and-white stripes on the fuselage - similar to 'D-Day invasion stripes - to prevent F-86 Sabre pilots from mistaking each other for MiGs. In November 1951, when 51st FIW Group transitioned to the F-86 Sabre, their commander, Lt Col George Jones, didn't want to just copy the 4th FIW stripes, so he asked Capt Ed Matczak, group material officer and budding artist, to design something different. He came up with the rearward-slanting yellow band on the fuselage, and yellow bands on the wing and tail. Later, the wing revived the black square markings worn by 325 Fighter Group, the 'Checkertails’, in WW2.



In my build of “Mike’s Bird” I’ve used Academy’s amazing 1998 moulding of their 2011 “The Huff” Special edition kit. It’s interesting they releasing their 1:48 scale version of “The Huff” at the same time as Airfix were doing the same in 1:72 scale. Also, by coincidence, that I used “The Huff” decals on the 1:48 scale Airfix kit I built at the same time! In another twist of fate, the “Mike’s Bird” decals were gifted to me by a good friend from his original 2011 Academy kit that he had in his stash. While the moulding has stood the test of time the decals less so, but I pressed on regardless!



If you were looking to build an F-86F Sabre and were undecided over whether to go 1998 Academy or 2022 Airfix, unless you wanted to show the earlier model’s extended leading edges, sadly, I’d have to recommend Academy every time. From quality of design to crisp moulding, detailing through out from interior to engine, guns to airbrakes and most surprising of all, two excellently crafted pilots!